DAILY MANIFESTO

E3 First Impressions: Nintendo Wii U

Posted on Friday, June 10 @ 01:54:43 Eastern by Josh_Laddin

Nintendo's taken the top spot for longest lines at E3 two years running now. Last year the 3DS generated 2+-hour lines for people desperate to get their grubby hands on the new handheld, and this year the same happened on the console side with the Wii U. Luckily, as prestigious members of the media (what are you snickering at?), we're able to bypass the lines and get some quality time with the demos on hand.

I won't even bother going into the name, because really, what's the point? It's already been done to death, and nothing anyone ever says will change the minds of whatever geniuses think these names up anyway.

Most of the demos were compatible with both the Wii U controller and traditional Wii controller. In fact, the Nintendo reps made a big point of using both controllers for the same game, as each provides a starkly different method of control and sometimes even a different role to play.

The first game we saw was New Super Mario Bros. Mii, which played just like the last New Super Mario Bros. game except you can also play as—you guessed it—your Miis. This one had the least difference between the controllers, both providing the same platforming experience you're used to with 2D Mario. It was interesting to note that most people who used the Wii U controller, though, seemed to focus on the controller's screen to follow the action, essentially playing the game as if it were a handheld.

Next up was Battle Mii, which pitted the Wii U player against two Wii players in a 2-on-1 shoot-out similar to some of the old Mario Party mini-games. The Wii U player got a spaceship and had to take out the players on foot. It controls by using the left stick to move the ship while the built-in gyroscope actually handled the view and targeting reticule, having you physically move the controller around in the 360-degree space around you. It was a more than a little awkward at first, but a lot of that came from the fact that it's tough to move the unit around freely while it's tethered to a podium.

Chase Mii is an interesting look at potential usages for the Wii U screen. It was essentially a game of tag, where the Wii U player was "it" and had to run around a large arena dodging a team of four Wii players. The Wii players had no map and had to communicate with each other to try and corner the Wii U...user (Wii U-ser?). Meanwhile, the Wii U screen showed an aerial map with all player positions, which that one person used to try and run circles around the enemy team.

There were a few other demos, like a simple drawing game and a mini-game where you used the Wii U controller as a "shield" to block incoming virtual arrows, but the games of note were really the multiplayer showings.

Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Zelda HD demo, which showcased Link facing off against a big spider boss reminiscent of Queen Ghoma in glorious HD. What piqued my interest, however, was that it wasn't a battle I remember seeing from any other Zelda game to date. I asked if we might expect a brand new HD Zelda game sometime down the road featuring this fight, but as expected, all I got were cryptic shrugs and "maybes".

But a guy can dream, right?

Tags: E3, nintendo, Wii U

Comments

Diabolus
Joined: Nov 2008

Posted: Jun 10th, 2011 at 2:11 am
That Zelda pic looks badass, so Nintendo will throw that in the garbage and make a new Wind Waker.

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usaglory
Joined: Mar 2009

Posted: Jun 10th, 2011 at 3:24 am
"most people who used the Wii U controller seemed to focus on the controller's screen to follow the action"
Maybe Nintendo is trying to stick it to Sony by attempting to slow down HD/3D TV sales.
Also, I wonder how the circle pads felt and why they decided to go with those instead of analog sticks, didn't the PSP suffer because of a similar design choice?

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MrrClean
Joined: Aug 2010

Posted: Jun 10th, 2011 at 6:40 am
Everything in there sounds lame and gimmicky, like the kind of thing that will attract buyers for like 3 weeks untill everyone realises there is no depth to what Nintendo is doing anymore. Kinda like the Wii.

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wildmario
Joined: Jan 2007

Posted: Jun 10th, 2011 at 6:48 am
It isn't a fad if it last stupidly long.

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Rinnon
Joined: Nov 2005

Posted: Jun 10th, 2011 at 6:45 am
MrrClean: Just replace the words "3 weeks" with "4 years" and you're absolutely right.

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Kese_Arcade
Joined: May 2011

Posted: Jun 10th, 2011 at 9:41 am
The only thing I've really noticed is that once the big 3 conferences were over, everyone was focusing on cool upcoming games. Games that are pushing the boundaries and were really big in scope, concept and sheer fun. None of those games were on a Nintendo system. That may change after the Wii U get's here but I'm not holding my breath after what the Wii offered up these past years. For a gamer with a really diverse palette of game types, it wasn't much of anything.

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xxmrcyanidexx
Joined: May 2011

Posted: Jun 10th, 2011 at 9:57 am
I bought the Wii solely for Super Smash Bros Brawl. I don't think I'll be buying the Wii U because there....Wait, they have plans of making a new Super Smash Bros Brawl? Allright, I'll buy it.

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danielrbischoff
Joined: Nov 2009

Posted: Jun 10th, 2011 at 10:26 pm
My Wii ownership didn't last to Smash Bros. Brawl....

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ShadeTail
Joined: Nov 2006

Posted: Jun 10th, 2011 at 5:10 pm
Personally, I'm not sold on this thing yet. I'm intrigued, but I never buy a new console at launch. I'll definitely be waiting to see what kind of game library it builds up first, maybe even wait for the first price drop.

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danielrbischoff
Joined: Nov 2009

Posted: Jun 10th, 2011 at 10:29 pm
Wise choice.

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Diabolus
Joined: Nov 2008

Posted: Jun 11th, 2011 at 3:01 am
I've bought plenty of consoles at launch...never regretted it. Launch sales help determine what kind of support a console will have. If everyone sits on the fence, it won't get the games. Kind of like people who don't vote *****ing about politics.

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usaglory
Joined: Mar 2009

Posted: Jun 11th, 2011 at 10:37 am
I will also wait for the first price drop (at least, since I don't know the initial price). Look at the Wii, it sold like crazy yet it did not get good third party support and companies (including Nintendo itself) basically just started pumping out shovelware.

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Diabolus
Joined: Nov 2008

Posted: Jun 11th, 2011 at 11:02 am
The Wii's lack of power is to blame for less third party support. But you do have a point.

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SweetHat
Joined: May 2011

Posted: Jun 12th, 2011 at 9:23 am
While this is giving me fuzzy feelings. Im still waiting to see what it will do out of the gate id be willing to back it after a price drop if everyone says its worth it.

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